Business Groups Say BC Port Stoppage Will Hurt Companies, Canadian Economy

A water taxi travels on the Fraser River past cargo containers stacked at Fraser Surrey Docks below houses on a hill, in Surrey, B.C., on Nov. 4, 2024. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Business groups say the work stoppage at B.C. ports is the latest in a run of supply chain disruptions affecting Canadian companies and the country’s economy.

Employers at most of the province’s ports locked out their workers Monday in a dispute involving roughly 700 unionized foremen. The workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 have been without a contract since March 2023.